Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Kristin Vermilya

Rascal News @rascal.news · 22h

Day one of @kickstarterunited.org's ongoing strike saw elected officials and union leaders show up in the streets of NYC to support workers.

Kickstarter United strikes in New York City for fairer contract

The workers were joined on day one by elected officials and various union leaders.

www.rascal.news

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Chris Berube @chrisberube.bsky.social · 1d

The first episode of Hidden Levels is now live on the @99pi.org feed! It's a series about video games we're doing with the @wbur.org show Endless Thread.

Episode 1 - The story of NBA Jam, the most fun (and least accurate) depiction of basketball in gaming. This one's really fun, check it out.

99% Invisible @99pi.org · 1d

Step back into the ’90s, when dunks broke backboards, catchphrases caught fire, and one arcade game turned every kid into an NBA superstar ⛹️‍♂️⛹️‍♀️

Listen to Hidden Levels, out now on the 99% Invisible and Endless Thread podcast feeds 👉 http://99pi.org/hl

Producer: @jamesparkinson.bsky.social

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Jonaya Kemper @violetriotgames.bsky.social · 2d

Do you find yourself at the intersection of performance, games, and design? Do you want to work with world class artists in research, pedagogy, and games? Then maybe apply to work with me at UCSC! We're hiring a Assistant Professor of Interactive Art, Performance & Games

recruit.ucsc.edu/JPF01998

Assistant Professor of Interactive Art, Performance & Games (Initial Review Date 11/14/25)

University of California, Santa Cruz is hiring. Apply now!

recruit.ucsc.edu

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Mel Buer @melbuer.bsky.social · 10d

Don’t get me wrong, shit’s fucking scary—but this last week’s worth of absurd headlines and wonky ass shit coming out of the WH really convinces me that they’re are flailing around and grasping at straws that are getting harder to pick up

The window for resistance is still open, folks

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Kristin Vermilya @kvermilya.bsky.social · 16d

Shannon has been such an amazing resource - I’ve been devouring his books for podcast research. Interview this man!

Shannon Appelcline 🌮 @shannonappelcline.bsky.social · 16d

PS: If you have a podcast, I'd love to talk about D&D history (and inevitably the upcoming kickstarter). Drop me a line! (The only caveat is that I'm in Hawaii, so they need to be what's likely afternoon or evening your time.)

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🧛VÆmpiric @empiricgame.bsky.social · 16d

Excited to eventually listen to this documentary. As someone who was forced to return a D&D book as a kid especially interested in satanic panic.

Kristin Vermilya @kvermilya.bsky.social · 16d

So excited to have been on the Ludology podcast to talk to Sen about the history of rpgs! Such a fun conversation - thanks for having me!

If you're interested in hearing more about the documentary podcast, listen and tell me what you think! And subscribe to Ludology to support Sen & Erica's show :)

Ludology Podcast @ludologypod.bsky.social · 17d

🎲✂️

*New Episode!*

@senfoonglim.bsky.social talks with Kristin Vermilya about her forthcoming audio documentary series, Out of the Dungeon, that takes a look at the history of roleplaying games - from before D&D to the modern era of Actual Plays and beyond!

ludology.libsyn.com/ludology-345...

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Kristin Vermilya @kvermilya.bsky.social · 16d

Mike! Send me a message if you'd like to chat about your experience during the Satanic Panic! I'd love to hear your story

Kristin Vermilya @kvermilya.bsky.social · 16d

@senfoonglim.bsky.social helped me distill the whole thesis of my documentary into a 35 second sound bite. So, thanks, Sen! And thank you, @ludologypod.bsky.social for this wonderful chat!

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Kristin Vermilya @kvermilya.bsky.social · 16d

So excited to have been on the Ludology podcast to talk to Sen about the history of rpgs! Such a fun conversation - thanks for having me!

If you're interested in hearing more about the documentary podcast, listen and tell me what you think! And subscribe to Ludology to support Sen & Erica's show :)

Ludology Podcast @ludologypod.bsky.social · 17d

🎲✂️

*New Episode!*

@senfoonglim.bsky.social talks with Kristin Vermilya about her forthcoming audio documentary series, Out of the Dungeon, that takes a look at the history of roleplaying games - from before D&D to the modern era of Actual Plays and beyond!

ludology.libsyn.com/ludology-345...

Ludology: Ludology 345 Out of the Dungeon

Sen is back after a short hiatus, this time speaking with fellow podcaster, Kristin Vermilya, about her endeavour to document the 50+ year history of role playing games in her forthcoming audio docume...

ludology.libsyn.com

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Cooger & Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Podcast @gonebabygone.bsky.social · 21d

People want everything to be a binary between dooming and “we’re so back” but I’ll just say this is both a really troubling attack on press freedom and an open admission that your regime is fragile enough to feel threatened by Jimmy fucking Kimmel

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Jonaya Kemper @violetriotgames.bsky.social · 27d

It's not just fabric or yarn. It's a baby blanket. It's a wedding quilt. It's a misshapen hat from your lover who learned to crochet. It's the stitch and bitch circle that helps you leave an abusive partner. It's a stuffie for a sick nephew. It's your prom dress. It's a funeral shroud. It's life.

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acabylon 👻 BOO! 👻 @acabylonbee.bsky.social · 26d

posters joking about charlie kirk were held to a higher standard than the wall street journal this week

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Kristin Vermilya @kvermilya.bsky.social · 27d

My former fiction writing professor! Proud <3

Split/Lip Press @splitlippress.com · 28d

We continue @aubreyhirsch.bsky.social's Blurb Week with praise for GRAPHIC RAGE from @mirkdrop.bsky.social, who also presciently noted that "Hirsch's comics make her readers feel less alone as we see the bigger picture we're all (unfortunately) part of."

Agreed and signed! ❤️

"Aubrey Hirsch's work is a feminist magnifying glass--when she points her sharp lens at an issue, the paper may actually burst into flames." --Shay Mirk, author of MAKING NONFICTION COMICS: A GUIDE TO GRAPHIC NARRATIVE

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Kristin Vermilya @kvermilya.bsky.social · 28d

www.npr.org/2025/09/09/n...

Here they are: The best student podcasts in America

For the 2025 NPR Student Podcast Challenge, we've listened to nearly 2,000 entries from around the U.S., and narrowed them down to 11 middle school and 10 high school finalists.

www.npr.org

Reposted by Kristin Vermilya

Linda Holmes @lindaholmes.bsky.social · 29d

No people on the planet will ever be AI. This is Orwellian bullshit. Zero people will ever be AI. This is no different from saying half the people in the country are television characters. Do not let anybody convince you that you don’t know the difference between a human being and a machine.

Josie Duffy Rice @jduffyrice.bsky.social · 29d

“We believe that in the near future half the people on the planet will be AI, and we are the company that’s bringing those people to life,” said CEO Jeanine Wright, who was previously chief operating officer of podcasting company Wondery
www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/dig...

5,000 Podcasts. 3,000 Episodes a Week. $1 Cost Per Episode — Behind an AI Start Up’s Plan

Former Wondery exec Jeanine Wright is leading a new firm, Inception Point AI, that's betting on flooding the zone with audio content: “I think that people who are still referring to all AI-generated c...

www.hollywoodreporter.com

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Kristin Vermilya @kvermilya.bsky.social · 29d

How’s Wondery doing right now? Oh, that’s right…

Josie Duffy Rice @jduffyrice.bsky.social · 29d

“We believe that in the near future half the people on the planet will be AI, and we are the company that’s bringing those people to life,” said CEO Jeanine Wright, who was previously chief operating officer of podcasting company Wondery
www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/dig...

5,000 Podcasts. 3,000 Episodes a Week. $1 Cost Per Episode — Behind an AI Start Up’s Plan

Former Wondery exec Jeanine Wright is leading a new firm, Inception Point AI, that's betting on flooding the zone with audio content: “I think that people who are still referring to all AI-generated c...

www.hollywoodreporter.com

Reposted by Kristin Vermilya

mattynoshoes.bsky.social @mattynoshoes.bsky.social · Sep 7

As a Pittsburgher, its very strange rooting for the Steelers while hoping their quarterback gets sacked on every play

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Kristin Vermilya @kvermilya.bsky.social · Sep 3

Miss you!

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Kristin Vermilya @kvermilya.bsky.social · Sep 3

Wanting to flag this part of the article for anyone who may be affected. Vasinda caused a lot of harm (regardless of intent) by using his reputation and relationships to bring indie ttrpg designers into the fold with a company/CEO that he knew had major issues. Some designers lost thousands.

"At the end of the day, I feel responsible for everyone who had a bad experience with Brandfox," [Tony Vasinda] said. "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. If somebody's reading this and they have not been satisfied by an obligation to Brandfox that I set up for them, they should ping me one more time and give me a chance to just get them paid out. Even if it's out of my own pocket, I am happy to do it."

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Kristin Vermilya @kvermilya.bsky.social · Aug 31

Yinz are the best <3

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Kristin Vermilya @kvermilya.bsky.social · Aug 28

I love librarians

Internet Archive @archive.org · Aug 28

Newspapers disappear. Communities’ stories shouldn’t.

Community Webs librarians are archiving grassroots news to preserve the web we built.

Learn more ⤵️
blog.archive.org/2025/08/27/p...
🧵

White tile with a square black outline anchored with open and closed quotation marks. Within is a quote which reads, "With the decline in the number of print newspapers, it is imperative that local, grassroots news websites be archived." Signed Desiree Funston, Missoula Public Library.

Reposted by Kristin Vermilya

Rich Burroughs @richburroughs.dev · Aug 28

Newsom has already sacrificed another group—it’s homeless people. But @chriswarcraft.bsky.social is right, there will be a third group, fourth, etc. If you’re not making decisions based on principles then lots of folks can be expendable.

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · Aug 28

Chris Kluwe on Gavin Newsom and his treatment of the trans community:

www.thehandbasket.co/p/chris-kluw...

KABAS: You mentioned Governor Newsom, your state's governor. He's been in the spotlight lately for his social media posts trolling Trump. But he's also podcasted with far right media figures in the very recent past, and he's shown a willingness to throw trans people under the bus to achieve his greater aims. And so I'm really curious to know what you think of his leadership?

KLUWE: So Governor Newsom, his leadership is interesting in that he's very clearly a political creature. And he's going to do what he feels is best from a polling perspective, not necessarily what's best from a, ‘oh, this is my moral compass,’ or, ‘this is my line in the sand.’

I think it's pretty clear that he's going to be running, or considering a presidential run, and while I appreciate the fact that Gavin Newsom is fighting back right now and on our side, due to his constant attacks on the trans community and his willingness to host far right figures, I don't think he's worthy presidential material. And I don't think it's appropriate for him to present himself that way, unless he did a lot of work to make up for what he's done in the past.

I don't blame any trans person that refuses to vote for Gavin Newsom because he's showing people he will throw them under the bus. And as a democracy, we can't be willing to sacrifice other people. Like if you're willing to sacrifice another group, no matter how small that group is, you're not a democracy. You're some other form of government. Because when circumstances change, then that means you'll sacrifice another group, and basically at that point you're the same as Trump. You're just wearing a different hat.

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Ken Tremendous @kentremendous.bsky.social · Aug 19

Some of the world's smartest people are deeply invested in the idea that LLMs are actually creative forces. They are not. They are vacuum cleaners attached to a firehose.

Tweet from William MacAskill explaining that he likes to allow Gemini to write its own short story and he was really impressed with it, and then an excerpt from the story itself, called "The Architect and the Gardener."

A quote from George R.R. Martin where he says there are two types of writers, the architects and the gardeners, which is very clearly the source of Gemini's "story"

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Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · Aug 11

Israel has killed 240+ journalists. People who'd cover a strike that killed their kids and go on to cover the next strike, in the pursuit of convincing the world to act, of the hope of tomorrow being different.

How many more murders will it take for the mainstream media's cowardly fever to break?

BREAKING: Israel Killed Al Jazeera Journalist Anas Al-Sharif

Journalists in Gaza continue to be murdered in record numbers, while Western media outlets and reporters show little or no outrage.

zeteo.com

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Kristin Vermilya @kvermilya.bsky.social · Aug 7

Speaking of, my newsletter just moved to Beehiiv and it's out today! It's free - check out bts of my latest reporting trip out west!
outofthedungeon.beehiiv.com/p/heading-we...

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